432 



Fishery Bulletin 101(2) 



A Male tautog (n=79) 



50 



150 200 250 



Total length (mm) 



350 



Figure 3 



Length at maturity for (A) male and (B) female tautog collected during the 1995 

 spawning season in lower Chesapeake Bay and nearby coastal waters of Virginia. 

 Curves represent the logistic regression line. 



more abundant than males, whereas the sex ratios were 

 not significantly different from 1:1 at fish lengths >400 mm 

 (Table 3). 



Length and age at maturity 



Tautog length at 509f maturity (^r,o' was 218 mm for males 

 (/!=79) and 224 mm for females (« = 110, Fig. 3). All males 

 and females were mature at 300 mm. No females less than 

 227 mm had hydrated oocytes or POFs that would have 

 indicated spawning activity. 



Age at first maturity was defined as the age at which 

 at least 50% of the fish are mature. Mature gonads were 

 present in Wc of males at age 1, 38% at age 2, and 93% at 



age 3. Zero percent of females were mature at age 2, 78% 

 at age 3, and >97% at age 4. 



Spawning season and location 



GSI values indicated that tautog spawned from April 

 through June and that peak values occurred in April for the 

 1995 spawning season (Fig. 4). The 1995 spawning season 

 was more precisely defined as 7 April-15 June based on 

 the presence of females in spawning condition (i.e. staged 

 histologically as hydrated, running ripe). At the beginning 

 of the spawning .season, females progressed into spawning 

 condition over approximately two weeks. The end of the 

 spawning season was determined conservatively, based 



